CHICAGO – Prosecutors dropped all charges Tuesday against “Empire” star Jussie Smollett, just weeks after he was indicted on 16 counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report about being the victim of an alleged hate crime attack.

At a press conference later, outgoing Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters they were outraged at the decision. They continued to accuse Smollett of lying about being attacked as a means to raise his profile and TV salary.

"This is a whitewash of justice," Emanuel declared. "It’s Mr. Smollett who committed this hoax. He’s still saying he's innocent, still running down the Chicago Police Department. How dare he? How dare he?